Dreams and Remembrances
by keeperofthetardis
Summary: "Most times he kept that ancientness locked away, behind his eyes, and in his hearts. Safe. Very, very safe. But River thinks it was that ancientness she grew to love in the first place." Chronicles a series of happenings after Amy and Rory are zapped back to 60's New York. Features River as a child, and explores the Doctor's grief about the Ponds, and his love for River.
1. Chapter 1

**Hurrah! I got a new headcannon so I figured I'd write about it. Spoilers for The Angels Take Manhattan and everything before it. Hope you enjoy. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

He is ancient, and she knows it. River knows this better than anything. As she grows older, she almost begins to miss the ancientness. When she was a child he would appear from time to time. The Doctor was always a secret, and she couldn't tell just anyone. But to look in his eyes when she was a child, it was as looking into time, as unending as the universe. The ancientness in his eyes was vast, and at times, it was uncontained. Those were the exciting times. However, most times he kept that ancientness locked away, behind his eyes, and in his hearts. Safe. Very, very safe. But River thinks it was that ancientness she grew to love in the first place.

It wasn't as if it was adults in particular she liked talking to. Sometimes she liked talking to everybody. Sometimes she liked saying nothing at all. But when _he_ came. Well that's when things changed.

"Mum… I have an imaginary friend," she told Amy one day.

Amy stopped and turned from her position at the counter, where she was cutting up potatoes for the soup. She looked at her daughter, with her round little face, and blonde ringlets. And those inquisitive eyes that reminded her so much of Rory.

"You have?" Amy said, a smile gracing her lips.

"Yes. And he's _real_," River said.

"You know what?" Amy said, going over to her daughter and hugging her, "I believe you."

Amy knew even if her daughter was making it up, how important it was for her to believe her. When she was a child herself, what mattered most to her was that there were always two people there to believe her that the Doctor was real – Rory, and Melody. Amy couldn't be sure exactly what would happen, or if River would regenerate again. Somehow, when Melody grew up with them, she had travelled forward in time, and had either hidden or forgotten about her time with grown Amy and Rory as her true parents. Either way – Amy couldn't ever crush the dreams of her daughter. Dreams were what got Amy to where she was in her life in the first place.

Amy thought back to when they'd found River. It had been a twist of fate perhaps.

* * *

Amy and Rory had been zapped back to the 60's, in New York. It was quite an exciting time, and while it had taken a bit of getting used to, they had settled down in the city for a while.

"Do you want to go back?" Amy asked Rory one night as they lay in bed after getting ready to sleep and shutting off the lights. The moonlight came in through little cracks that the window shades didn't quite cover, and made patterns on their carpeted floor and over the covers.

"Do I want to go back where?"

"To England. I mean we could. There is transportation in this era," Amy said.

Rory was silent for a moment, then he sighed.

"I don't know. I do miss it. And I suppose if we go back there's a chance that we might run into our parents or something. I don't think we could go back to Leadworth without somebody recognizing us later on."

"Yeah…" Amy said, and considered this.

"But do you ever…" Rory flipped over on his side to look at Amy, "Do you ever feel like maybe there's a reason we're supposed to be here? Like maybe Time has something else for us that we've yet to run into? Maybe that's silly but…"

Amy nodded,

"No, but that's possible. I feel like that too."

Rory cracked a half smile,

"Well at least it's not just me."

"So do you think we'll just stay for a while longer yet?

"Yes," Rory replied, then added, "well, at least until we know for sure."

There really wasn't any clarification on Rory's part as to _what_ they would know for sure… they would just _know_.

And that's how it happened.

* * *

One night, three weeks later, Amy and Rory were walking in the city shortly after dusk had fallen. The air had taken a chill to it, as autumn in New York was fond of doing.

Amy shivered and looped her arm through Rory's, shifting closer for warmth.

"It's much colder this week than last week," she said.

"I know, I agree," Rory replied. "Maybe if we walk faster we'll warm up."

"I don't know if I can walk faster carrying this bag!" Amy said. On Amy's shoulder she wore a leather messenger bag that she had filled with books from their trip to the library, from which they were returning.

"Here, let me take it," Rory offered, and they stopped just before an alley. Amy took the bag off her shoulder, but just as Rory had put it on his, a sharp metallic crash accompanied by a childlike cry came from the alley.

Amy and Rory both jumped. Neither said anything, but the look in the other's eyes told them everything. They set off running down the alley, to try and find the source of the disruption.

"Hello?" Amy called out.

"Is everything ok?" Rory added.

Then, they stopped because they heard it. Soft sobs, coming from behind one of the giant dumpsters.

Amy crept around the dumpster, and whispered to Rory,

"Rory… the torch."

"Ah, right," Rory said, and took a mini-torch out of his pocket and handed it to Amy.

Amy shone the light around before the beam landed on the source of the crying. They stood still and stared, for a long moment.

It was a little girl, only about two or three, huddled in a ball on her side, wearing a tattered brown dress that was much too large for her. She cried and squinted at the light.

Amy handed the light to Rory, and knelt down slowly, reaching out to the little girl. Her pale face was streaked with dirt, and her curly blonde hair was matted.

"Hi… I'm… I'm Amy," she said, and lay a hand on the little girl's shoulder. The little girl continued to cry, seeming not to fully understand what was happening.

"Amy… where could she have come from?" Rory said, kneeling down next to Amy.

"I don't know. I don't see her parents anywhere around here."

"Well…" Rory said, and looked at his wife, "what should we do?"

Then, thunder cracked overhead. The little girl let out a frightened cry.

"We can't leave her here… it's going to pour pretty soon. We've got to take her home. Perhaps then we can call the police and find out if she's gone missing or something."

"Ok," Rory said, and put his hand forward, to brush the little girl's hair back from her face. "Hey… it's ok. I'm Rory," he said in a quiet, comforting voice. "We're going to look after you."

The little girl seemed to understand at least that Amy and Rory were safe to her.

"Come here," Amy said, and took the girl into her arms, standing up and holding her securely to her chest. At first the girl squirmed and fought, but she was too tired for much of a struggle, and settled down after a moment.

"Quickly, let's go home," Amy said. Rory nodded and they walked back through the alley and towards their apartment complex, a few blocks down. It was just beginning to rain when they reached the building, and they made it inside just in time.

Amy continued to hold the girl until they got to the stairs, when she switched with Rory and took the bag. Rory carried the girl up the three flights of stairs to the floor where they lived. She began to cry again, and he hushed her saying,

"Hey, it will be alright. We're going to help you."

When in their apartment, they went straight through the kitchen and through to the living room. Rory lay the girl down on the couch, where she snuffled and looked disoriented.

Amy set down the book bag, turned on some lamps, and went to stand next to Rory, who stood in front of the couch with his hands now in his pockets. They were silent for a moment.

"What are we going to do?" Rory said.

"I don't know. What about the police?"

"Do you think we should? What do they do in this era when there's a child that's been found on the streets? I never found out."

"Yeah and… this is America. Completely different."

"Yeah…" Rory said.

"Either way… perhaps we should phone the police," Amy concluded.

"If she is in fact a missing child, and hasn't just been abandoned, then that's probably the best thing to do."

"Ok," Amy said and walked back toward the kitchen. "Let me just put my coat away then I'll call."

"Ok," Rory said, and sat down on the couch next to the little girl.

Amy went into the bedroom, unbuttoned her coat, and lay it on the bed. When she came back out into the living room, she looked to the couch to find that the girl had moved herself and had lay her head in Rory's lap. Amy stood at the doorway for a moment and just watched them. Something in her heart snapped, right there, and she was struck both by how natural and wonderful it was to see Rory with a child, and how much it hurt that they couldn't have any more children of their own together. She missed the feel of holding her baby in her arms. She wanted that again, and she wanted it so much that she almost didn't want to pick up the phone to call the police. But she went back into the kitchen and picked up the phone anyway.

Their entire apartment was open wide, with the kitchen and dining room being the first thing they entered, and the living room with the sliding glass doors onto the balcony right across. Through the hallway was their two guest bedrooms and another bathroom, as well as their master bedroom. It was small, but they liked it, and had decorated tastefully, yet still with the vibrant styles of the times.

Amy stood at the counter with the phone. She hesitated another moment before calling 911, watching Rory murmur to the girl. He was trying to get her to tell them her name, if she knew what it was. She was silent, and looked miserable.

Amy sighed, and bit the bullet. She punched in the first number when suddenly the girl coughed, and Rory exclaimed,

"Amy! Look!"

The girl coughed and out of her mouth came a golden glowing dust.

Amy slammed the phone down.

"Oh my gosh," she said, and went over to the couch. "That's exactly what the Doctor did…"

"It looks like regeneration energy," Rory said.

"It is," Amy replied. "Or at least I think it is. Have you got your stethoscope?"

"Yes," Rory said, and gently moved the girl off his lap. He ran into the other room to go get it.

A moment later, after he'd listened to her heartbeat, he said,

"Right then… two hearts. So… Time Lord, then?"

Amy nodded,

"I mean think about it, what else could it be?"

There was a moment's pause in which they both thought about this.

"Well we can't call the police now," Rory concluded.

"No, I think there is only one thing to do. We're going to keep her," Amy said.

"But there's always the neighbors. Won't they ask questions? What if somebody reports us?"

"I don't know…" Amy said.

At first a great fear and concern came to life, but then hope grew between the two of them. And if a moment was to be pinpointed, that was the moment they _knew_.

"Amy," Rory said, and took her hand, "I think it's time we go home."

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A/N: WOO! Ok, so I hope you liked it. There will be more. Hopefully soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Couldn't resist writing and uploading more right now. :D Do review!**

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**Chapter 2**

And home they went. Back to England! Back to that familiar countryside, with its sky dotted with white fluffy clouds. They got a house, and settled down about an hour's drive from Leadworth. They were close enough to where they used to live to know the area.

When they crept out of the US, it felt a lot like sneaking away having kidnapped a child. But how could you explain that to customs?

"Hello, this is this girl we found in the street. She's an alien. We thought we'd keep her."

That would never work. So they had to arrange for a very private flight to England. It turns out the Doctor had some friends, and with the right connections, Amy and Rory were able to find those friends, to help them go back home.

But not at first.

* * *

The first night, Amy and Rory had washed her up, and then had gone out to the store and purchased some comfortable kids clothes for the little girl. Until then, they had changed her into one of Rory's cotton shirts. When Amy returned she found Rory sitting on the couch watching tv, with the little girl asleep in his arms. He had wrapped a big red blanket around both of them to ward off the chill.

Rory looked up and smiled as Amy came in. Amy smiled back and set the shopping bags down.

"Hello dear," she whispered, and went over to them.

"Hello," Rory replied in a soft voice and looked back at the sleeping toddler. "I gave her some warm milk and some strawberries. She was hungry… and Amy, she's so thin. I don't know how long she would have survived had we not found her. But she seems alright now. She was happy when I fed her, and…" Rory paused, as if he couldn't quite articulate his emotions, "and Amy, she laughed. Amy, I made her laugh."

He looked up and met Amy's gaze. To her, he looked proud, and for the first time in a long time, content. Both of their eyes were wet.

"Look at you," Amy smiled, and leaned forward to kiss Rory's cheek. There could have been more to the sentence, but there wasn't. Amy didn't believe she could say it anyway.

"She has to stay with us, Amy," Rory said, resolute. "We can't leave her now. I… can't leave her now," he admitted.

"You're right," she said, and put her arm around him, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Eventually, they moved from the couch and to the bed, keeping the girl with them.

And the girl knew for the first time she wouldn't have to be brave anymore. Because she was safe.

* * *

On the second day, they tried to get her to talk.

"What's your name?" Amy asked, as the girl sat at the kitchen table atop a stack of books to boost her higher. "I'm Amy," she pointed emphatically to herself, "he's Rory," she pointed emphatically to Rory, "and _you_ are…"

The little girl blinked, and took a bite of herbanana. Rory smiled, "It will come with time."

"I hope so. I hope she knows her name, or else we'll have to name her," Amy said, and turned back to the stove, where she was cooking breakfast.

"What would be so bad about that?" Rory asked.

"Rory, how would we ever decide?"

"Well I don't know… the same way we'd decide anything else I guess."

* * *

But the answer didn't come until the next day. Amy had been to the library and brought home some books to read to the little girl. She hadn't started talking yet, and they didn't try and make her, but she had started laughing, and had developed affection for both of them. When one left, she went straight to the other, clinging to their leg, or reaching to be held by them. She was small, and adorable, and more than a little confusing, but she made them melt.

"Come here," Amy smiled as she walked through the door.

"Look what she has!" Rory exclaimed and carried the girl over.

"I've got you books," said Amy, and showed one to the girl.

"Ooh, look!" Rory coaxed, and bounced the girl on his hip, "that one's about a giraffe, and that one's about a rabbit, and that one's about a dragon, and that one's about a sailboat!"

The girl smiled an infectious grin that lit up her whole face. They sat down, and began to read to her. The first story about the giraffe made her smile, and it made them remember the Doctor at their wedding and his ridiculous dancing. The second book about the rabbit gave them ideas of places to take the girl on walks outside where she could see nature. The third book about the dragon may have frightened her, but they used it to try and convince her that she could fight off any evil thing if she wanted to.

The fourth book, called "Song of the Sailboat" had beautiful watercolor illustrations. At first, she looked at the pictures, and then they saw her eyes dart to the words.

"The sailboat sang all the way up the river," Amy read, "and she sailed the current her fast downstream! The boat sang a happy song, because the river made it happy."

The little girl looked intent at the page for a long time, and then lay her hand over Amy's, just before Amy turned the page.

The little girl pointed to the word 'river'.

"River," she said, and then repeated the word, tapping it's spot on the page. "River."

"Yes, that's the word river! Very good!" Rory encouraged, but she shook her head.

"No! River!" she said again, this time louder. "Riversong. River… riversong."

Amy and Rory froze.

"Say… that again," Amy said.

"Riversong," the little girl looked up at Amy and then pointed to her own chest. "Riversong. Me."

Amy felt as if her entire world had ground to a screeching halt, and as if the room had begun to spin all around her. Every little sound was magnified, every touch, and every smell. Everything fixated at once on the little girl sitting next to her on the couch, staring up at her with big blue eyes.

"You?" squeaked Rory.

"You're River Song?" Amy said, and looked the girl directly in the eyes.

She received a serious nod in return.

Amy cried. Rory cried. And so did River. Small, precious, River Song.

And very far away, on another world, in another galaxy, in another tongue, an old, lonely man in a little blue box cried too.

* * *

A/N: Shorter than the last one, but more frequent chapters work better for me.


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